Here's why James Carville believes Biden's been 'the best president that Black America's ever had'

• James Carville favorably compared Biden's record for Black Americans to that of Obama and Clinton.
• "He's been demonstrably the best president that Black America's ever had," he told the Times.

Democratic strategist James Carville in a recent interview lauded President Joe Biden's economic record for Black Americans, placing it above the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Carville — who helped elect Clinton to the presidency in 1992 and has been a vocal critic of the direction of the Democratic Party in recent years — told The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd that Black Americans are faring better under Biden's presidency on a range of key issues.

"He's been demonstrably the best president that Black America's ever had, Clinton and Obama included," Carville said of Biden. "You look at incomes, employment, poverty rates, access to healthcare."

"It's not where whites are, but it's closer than it's ever been," he added.

In April 2023, the Black unemployment rate fell to 4.8%, the lowest level on record for Black citizens. And for Black Americans in the workforce, weekly pre-tax earnings surged 24.8% from Q1 in 2020 through the end of 2023, according to CNBC.

The poverty rate among Black Americans fell to 17.1% in 2022, a record low dating back to 1959, according to US Census data.

In January 2024, Black unemployment ticked up to 5.3%, still low relative to numbers seen during the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic but higher than the white unemployment rate (3.4%) that month.

Carville said Democratic fumbling on messaging around the economy has begun to cost the party critical electoral support — especially among Black men.

In the Times interview, Carville also pushed back against what he said was a female-centric posture that had alienated some men from the party, a move that he warned had contributed to polling erosion that the party couldn't afford to endure as Biden faces a tough reelection bid against former President Donald Trump this fall.

"If you listen to Democratic elites…the whole talk is about how women, and women of color, are going to decide this election," he said. "I'm like: 'Well, 48 percent of the people that vote are males. Do you mind if they have some consideration?'"